


Not That Kind of Rainbow Connection

by NerdWhoSaysNi



Series: Marvel Oneshots [6]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, New York City, Pride, Stark Tower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 07:11:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16529852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdWhoSaysNi/pseuds/NerdWhoSaysNi
Summary: *Kermit voice* Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection...





	Not That Kind of Rainbow Connection

The city was packed, and everyone was miserable. Bri was in a perpetual state of being pissed off at everyone else in the tower. Even her new friendship with Adam was in jeopardy. In the past few months, she and Adam had become closer than ever, he had stopped making overt advances, and Bri was laughing at his jokes and helping make breakfast. They’d even been caught holding hands and cuddling once while watching a movie with the twins. 

However, not even Adam was safe from her anger. Her mood extended to every person who happened to step foot in the tower, and most people who dared walk around in her city. And there were a lot of them. The streets were packed. Bri knew there were demonstrations going on, but none were usually ever this big. Or colorful. 

“What are all these people doing out here? And what kind of manifestation is this?” Adam asked, handing Bri her coffee. 

“It’s June,” she replied. 

“Oui, and?”

“So it’s Pride Month. It’s not a manifestation, it’s a parade.” Bri had an intense dislike of all humanoid beings that breathed oxygen regardless of who they were. 

Below them, every color imaginable flashed in the sun on various flags and pendants. As they watched the crowd press on at a snail’s pace, Haley and Loki appeared with their own cups of coffee. “Good morning, bonjour,” Haley greeted Bri and Adam pleasantly. “What’s going on down there?”

Bri glared at her teammate and spat, “I’m not repeating myself.” She took her coffee and strode out of the room. 

Adam repeated to Hal what Bri had said before adding, “It is beautiful, non?”

Haley sipped from her mug and nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. I’ve never seen a Pride Parade before. There’s a lot of colors.” Just as she began to be thankful she wasn’t sweating in the humidity of a city summer in the crowd and throng, Jarvis interrupted to make an emergency announcement.

“Bomb threat. Corner of 43rd and 6th.”

“That’s the town hall.” Haley set down her mug and gave Jarvis her full attention. 

“Possibly bioengineered. Not suspected terrorism, possibly timed for the parade. It would be best we don’t find out.”

Adam jumped into action and ran to find Bri. Just as he was about to turn the corner, Bri appeared and pushed him back into the room. “Jarvis, what’s the parade’s estimated time of arrival at town hall?”

“Thirty five minutes.”

“How fast can we get through this mess?”

“You will have to go on foot. Vehicles are not permitted on the parade course.”

“Fine. We’re on it.” Bri turned and surveyed the other three. “Not you, I hate you,” she said, dismissing Loki. “God, I hate all of you.” She glared at them one by one before her eyes fell on Loki again. “But I hate you the most. Besides, everyone down there will want to kill you almost as much as I do.” 

“I’m a trained soldier,” Adam reminded her. “This is a familiar situation.”

“And after you, I’m the fastest on the team at deactivating bombs,” Haley added. “You and Adam can cover me while I deactivate it.”

Bri eyed Adam and Hal and groaned. “Fiiiiiiine. Both of you. Come with me.” Without waiting, she left the room and they all went to fetch their weapons. 

“No guns. We can’t risk the sound of a gunshot setting the crowd in a panic. No arrows. Nothing is going to be long range. Knives only and make sure they’re hidden.”

When they finally got out on the street, they had less than half an hour to find and deactivate the bomb. Adam headed off down away from the parade, and Hal and Bri began to push through to the front. They just had to get out of the mob and then they could run toward 43rd and 6th. 

Haley was good at slipping between people and remaining unseen, but she was bad at being rude. Bri had a master’s degree in being rude. She pushed and shoved at people until a path began to open in front of her. She tugged Haley along behind and began to force her way through the tangle of arms and legs and sticky June-sweat on skin. The brightly colored flags flapped and flashed and created impossible walls they occasionally had to skirt around. As they neared the front of the crowd, more people began to willingly move out of their way. 

Just as they broke into the front row, a reporter grabbed Bri and Hal and pulled them in front of a camera. The woman forced a microphone into their faces and began talking over the crowd. “Is this your first Pride parade? How long have you been together?”

“What? We’re not- No- That’s not-”

The woman laughed into the camera and returned the microphone to their stunned silence. “All this excitement and nerves! Must be hard to find the words for it all. How about a kiss for the camera then, and we’ll let you return to the party?”

The hate in Bri’s eyes could have set fire to puppies. 

“One kiss, and you’re free to go,” the reporter repeated. 

“I swear to all that is unholy...” Bri muttered. They had to leave. They had to go find that bomb. But when she tried to walk away, the reporter stepped in her path. 

“One kiss.”

“You’re making us kiss on tv? What kind of gargoyle are you? That’s not okay! You can't just make people kiss!"

Haley said, “We don’t have time to argue!” She grabbed Bri’s shoulder and turned her around. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this.” Holding onto Bri so she couldn’t back away, Hal screwed up all her courage and kissed her. On the mouth. “Now let us go!” She shoved the reporter out of the way and began to sprint to the end of the block. She wasn’t just running towards the bomb, she was running away from Bri. And the bomb seemed like much better company in the moment. 

Bri caught up and ran alongside Hal until they reached town hall. “Hey. Not a word. To anyone.”

“Not a word. Ever.”

“Deal?” 

“Deal.”

Splitting up, they began to search the building from opposite ends, keeping an eye on their timers as they dropped below five minutes. “Found it!” Bri shouted, sliding to her knees in a small cleft under the main staircase. 

Haley dropped beside her and started pulling out wire snips and other tools. “Watch my back. Where’s Adam?”

“I don’t know but-” Bri was interrupted by a man in a black mask charging toward her with a switchblade. 

As Bri fought her assailant and the two others who appeared, Haley went to work on the bomb. She carefully lifted it out of its hiding place and began to dismantle wires and switches and cables. The whole set up was a mess, and it was a true miracle the thing would even work. But she didn’t want to take any chances. She stripped wires and began snipping. Red here. Yellow there. This red? That red? Both. Snip. Strip. Snip. 

The final body crumpled to the floor and Bri wiped her knife off on her pants. “How’s it going? We have one minute. Less than. Counting.”

“I’m almost there. I need....thirty seconds.”

“You have thirty-two. Thirty-one. Thirty. Twenty-nine.”

“Would you stop that? I can’t think.” Haley tossed a broken tool over her shoulder and began to saw at the last wire with her knife. “Be ready to run. Just in case.”

Bri nodded and backed up a few steps. “Hal. Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen. Let’s go. Ten. Nine.”

“I’m almost there. Almost got it.”

“Four! Three!” 

“Hold on!”

Bri rolled her eyes and grabbed Hal around her waist. With all her strength, she flung the both of them over the stairs and behind the nearest wall. They tensed for the explosion. Nothing. They waited just in case. A minute later, they crept out from behind the wall and caught their breath. 

“We did it.” 

Shakily, they exchanged a highfive. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

Back in the tower that afternoon, Adam and Loki sat down for lunch and turned on the tv to pull up a movie. “Where are the girls?” Adam asked. 

Loki shrugged and began switching through the channels. 

Adam pulled his phone out and texted Bri. No answer. Just as he tried to call her, she walked into the room, a bottle of dish soap in one hand, a cup of water in the other, gargling. “What the hell are you doing? Are you gargling dish soap? Bri?” Adam was so confused, he didn’t know how to react. The bubbles were threatening to spill out of her mouth.

Haley followed in after Bri, furiously brushing her teeth, the toothpaste still held in one hand. 

“Mon Dieu, what’s gotten into the two of you?” 

Bri followed Adam’s line of sight and faced Haley. The girls hesitated a moment before continuing what they had been doing but with a little more force. 

“Hey, Bri,” Loki said, “is this you? On the news? Hal, hey, what’s-” 

On the screen, Loki paused just the exact moment the girls had kissed. 

Spewed expletives, curses, shouting--the room fell into chaos. Adam spilled his water across the lampstand and Loki almost slipped off his chair. The girls simply exchanged a look, filled their mouths with more soap and toothpaste, and left they way they had come.


End file.
